Diego Lopez has admitted that Brescia will need "to show personality" against Napoli on Friday. "We put ourselves in difficulty and now we need to get out".
Brescia are currently 19th in Serie A and look destined to take the trip back down after only one season among the elite of Italian football.
Ahead of the all-important match against the Partenopei tomorrow, the coach takes condifence from some positive aspects during the game against Serie A leaders Juventus last time.
Diego Lopez has admitted that Brescia will need "to show personality" against Napoli on Friday. "We put ourselves in difficulty and now we need to get out".
Brescia are currently 19th in Serie A and look destined to take the trip back down after only one season among the elite of Italian football.
Ahead of the all-important match against the Partenopei tomorrow, the coach takes condifence from some positive aspects during the game against Serie A leaders Juventus last time.
“Against Juve it was a particular game, the performance was positive,” Lopez said at a press conference. “With the sending off, everything became a lot more difficult. Until the goal, the team were fine, we stayed in the game.
“[Birkir] Bjarnason had a big opportunity, but the team also improved defensively.”
The former Cagliari boss denies that it’s all over for Brescia and will fight to pick up the necessary points and keep the Biancazzurri in the top tier.
But he has admitted that the game against the Partenopei tomorrow represents an opportunity to build a strong foundation for his side.
“Some teams can’t score points, we have to be realistic,” he said. “We have to do better, the moment you claim some points, you become enthusiastic. We must handle those situations.
“We have to do what’s needed on the pitch. This is not our last opportunity, but it’s a fundamental match. We must perform; we have to get used to playing under this pressure.
“We put ourselves in difficulty and now we need to show the personality to get out of it.
“We have to show what we have done at home, tomorrow it will be a game where you have to play and have the personality to do it.
“You must want to win; you need to be aggressive and keep the concentration throughout. Watching our previous games, you can tell that something is missing. I wanted to put five midfielders against Udinese, and it didn’t work. We were unable to score the second goal.”
Napoli have a match against Barcelona at the San Paolo next week and Lopez said he hopes it will affect their approach on Friday night.
“Let’s hope so,” he said and laughed. “It will be an important game for us. It could change our future.”
There has been attention on Mario Balotelli’s life off the pitch again this week, but Lopez has revealed that the forward is working well.
“He has always stayed with his mind on what happens on the pitch,” Lopez said. “If he plays, it means he is fine. I can’t go against the team an put a player who is not concentrated out there.
“What happens off the pitch, I will have to check on with my kids. Off the pitch, I don’t follow anyone, the boy is focused on the pitch.”